Many have been put in uncomfortable situations because of the anti-LGBT law including Charlotte, North Carolina. Many news outlets have highlighted the story of the NBA, National Basketball Association, canceling the All-Star game for 2017. The state of North Carolina had recently approved a House Bill 2 that allowed transgender people to use public restrooms. When referring to the unexpected cancellation of the game, the NBA commissioner made a statement saying, “hoping they would make some steps toward modifying the legislation, and frankly I was disappointed that they didn’t.” Adam Silver had also been quoted saying that North Carolina has thirty days to repeal the law before the game gets pulled from Charlotte. A shock to the North Carolina state government who knew this was a controversial matter, but did not think it would cause this much unrest.

The NBA moving the location of the All-Star game, originally in North Carolina, puts the state’s government at risk of losing anywhere from 50 million to 100 million dollars in economic benefits. Because of the extreme loss, many supporters of the controversial bill have decided to write letters comparing the situation to other countries and saying that transgender people are still people who deserve the basic rights of anyone else including the right to use a public restroom. But, the NBA has not changed their minds and have moved the game out of Charlotte.

The news story was fake because the All-Star game was never canceled or moved from Charlotte, North Carolina. Even after the controversial Bill passed, the game was never postponed or moved either. The quotes from Adam Silver were confirmed to be fake quotes. NBC’s Twitter page shared that these articles were fake after reading the original ABC News article. Many parts of the many articles having this fake news had real information. For example, the Bill was passed in North Carolina and tried to end discrimination. The bill was signed by former North Carolina Governor Patrick McCrory, an American businessman, and politician,  on March 23, 2017, and since approved has made it legal for people who have gone through the transition of identity to now be able to use the bathroom that they identify with. Many have also threatened or have canceled events such as concerts and stores because of the bill.

A site that had a very similar logo as ABC News called ABC News to report the story and was first to publish the story. It was later spread to social media and other news sources began to write about the All-Star game being canceled for 2017, but there were a few signs that seemed strange to readers. For example, many news articles about the game cancellation had the same quote from Adam Silver saying the game would be canceled if the bill was not repealed in 30 days. But the source was not noted. After checking for press conferences that Adam Silver might have said this at the many news sources realized their mistake and reported the fake news. Many sites like Cleveland.com and The Sun-times network both reported the fake news and had to delete the article. Another sign to show the news was fake was only caught by the few readers who were more focused with the business aspect and saw that the NBA was announcing something a little too aggressive and dramatic for a Saturday afternoon for a game ten months away. The article was far from being true but only some could pick up on the tipoffs.